By Dustin Lee DePue; Photos courtesy Strikeforce
St. Louis, MO—Strikeforce closed out 2010 with a fireworks show as four fighters on the televised card ended their fights in brutal and exciting fashion. Dan Henderson was among the big winners, stopping Renato “Babalu” Sobral with a thrilling KO in their rematch and putting himself into the 205 pound title picture. Paul Daley was the second former UFC fighter to show off his spectacular punching power as he decimated Scott Smith with a perfect left hook to earn his first Strikeforce victory. (Pictured: Henderson knocking out Sobral)
In the main event, Henderson pressured Sobral early, throwing a flurry of punches and catching him with a short left hook that had Sobral scrambling. Henderson ended up on top of Sobral in half guard before standing up and raining down a pair of absolute bombs that knocked Babalu cross-eyed, earning Henderson the knockout just inside of the two minute mark.
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| Henderson pursuing Sobral |
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| Daley standing over Smith |
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| Lawler ending Lindland's night |
The second round belonged to Silva as he followed up a solid right cross with a takedown. From here, Silva’s fifty plus pound weight advantage and BJJ prowess were too much for Kyle to overcome. Silva passed from position to position with ease, punching his way to from side control to north south where he looked to set up a kimura. When Kyle tried to stand, Silva locked in a D’Arce choke that looked tight. Kyle escaped but was again on his back, where Silva quickly worked to the full mount and finished the fight by dropping some devastating punches that knocked Kyle out at 2:49 of the second round.
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| Kyle hitting Silva |
Televised Results
Dan Henderson def Renato Sobral by KO 1:53 Rd 1
Paul Daley def Scott Smith by KO 2:09 Rd 1
Robbie Lawler def Matt Lindland by KO 0:50 Rd 1
Antonio Silva def Mike Kyle by KO 2:49 Rd 2
Ovince Saint Preux def Benji Radach by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-25)
